'Never Seen That Many Violations,' Investigator Says

A Superior Court jury in Manchester recently convicted the Tolland man of 102 felonies — 100 counts of violating a protective order, along with threatening and stalking. He faces more than 500 years in prison at his sentencing in February.

Stanley, 52, had been under a court order not to contact an East Hartford woman he was accused of threatening in February 2012. And yet, in that month and March, Stanley called the woman about 1,750 times, authorities said.

"It was actually more than that, but the officer stopped counting after that," Manchester state's attorney's investigator Anthony Duarte said recently.

The state's attorney decided that proceeding on 100 of those illegal calls was sufficient, said Duarte, who has worked for Connecticut prosecutors since 1986. He said Stanley's case is incomparable.

"In all the years I've been around, I've never seen that many violations or seen an individual convicted of that many felonies just for one case," Duarte said.

East Hartford police began investigating on March 18, when a local woman complained about getting 50 to 60 calls each day for several weeks, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Although the calls came from a "blocked" number, the woman suspected Stanley, police said. The two had dated, but the woman ended the relationship after learning of Stanley's long arrest record, telling police she "did not want to be associated with that kind of person," the affidavit says.

East Hartford police had arrested Stanley on Feb. 14 after the woman reported that he had threatened her. A no-contact protective order was issued. The woman said she feared Stanley, who had told her he loved her and would not leave her alone, police said.

Police were called to the woman's home a second time on March 18 after she complained that Stanley was out front on a motorcycle. Three days before, Stanley walked into a local bar the woman frequents and violated the protective order by sitting right behind her, she told police.

Stanley, who lived with his mother in Tolland, called East Hartford police after being told an officer was looking for him. He denied calling the woman or driving a motorcycle by her home, police said. He became increasingly angry, and the officer finally thanked him and hung up, according to the affidavit.

"Steven Stanley proceeded to call the East Hartford police dispatch 10 more times, stating that we were harassing him and that police kept calling him," the affidavit says.

Stanley eventually spoke to a police commander. He was told he could file a complaint, but refused, the affidavit said.

Meanwhile, police met with the victim and told her to answer the phone if she received any calls. While officers were with her, Stanley called and the woman activated the phone's speaker. In one call, Stanley said, "You're going down," police said. In a second call, he told the woman that she "had signed her own death warrant," and in a third, Stanley yelled obscenities at the woman and called her a "snitch," the arrest warrant affidavit says.

Police obtained records for Stanley's cell phone in April and learned that he had called the victim "approximately 1,750 times," police said. The records showed that the caller had blocked his number, police said.

Stanley has an extensive criminal record and has served time in prison for similar crimes against other women, court officials said. He was being held on bail totalling $500,000 and is to be sentenced on the recent conviction on Feb. 8.